Higher Education Outcome Report · West

💰 Low-Cost / High Value

Idaho Higher Education Outcome Report

Updated continuously · 15 degree-granting institutions graded

Idaho's higher education system is a lower earnings system. Median 10-year earnings sit at $44,291, -14% vs the national median.

technology
agriculture
manufacturing

35
INSTITUTIONS: $44,291
MEDIAN EARNINGS: ▼ -14% vs natl; $17,396
AVG NET PRICE: 8 / 5
PUBLIC / PRIVATE

OUTCOME GRADE

B-

48/100 · #31 of 50

Idaho At A Glance

State-Level Intelligence

Institutions

15

53,069 students enrolled
Graduates / Year

~6,395

Estimated annual completers
Median Earnings
22nd pct

$43,833

39th of 50 states
Mobility Score
50th pct

1.5%

23rd of 46 states
Talent Retention
52nd pct

70%

First-year retention rate
Value Ratio
56th pct

2.9x

Earnings per net-price dollar

Top Industries Hiring Graduates:

Healthcare
Business
Humanities

Executive Summary

Idaho graduates earn a median of $43,833 a decade after entry, 10% below the national state average, ranking 39th of 50 states.
Upward mobility sits mid-pack: the state's institutions move bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.5% rate, in the 50th percentile nationally.
Degree production is led by Healthcare and Business, which together account for 41% of graduates. That diversified mix sets what the state's labor pipeline can supply.
Technology shows oversupply pressure: graduate earnings run 19.6% below the national median, suggesting the field produces more graduates than the local market rewards.
On value, Idaho returns 2.9x earnings per dollar of net price, roughly average cost-to-outcome efficiency in the country.
The state's strongest mobility engine is Lewis-Clark State College, which moves bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 2.1% rate, the highest in Idaho.

Key Insights

Earnings vs National

-21.4%

Median graduate earnings in Idaho are below the national average by 21%.
Cost vs National

-1.2%

Net price in Idaho is lower than the national average by 1%.
Mobility Rate

-0.3pp

Upward mobility rate is 0.3 percentage points below the national average.
Completion Rate

+7.6pp

Idaho's graduation rate is 7.6 percentage points above the national average.
Best Value

6.7x

Top value school: College of Southern Idaho ($40,916 earnings vs $6,095 net price).
Low-Income Access

8.6%

9% of students come from bottom-quintile households, a measure of how open the state's colleges are to low-income students.

Education Output Profile

Healthcare (22% of graduates) and Business (18% of graduates) dominate Idaho's higher education output. Graduates in the top field earn a weighted average of $41,755.

Healthcare

22%

$41,755 avg
Business

18%

$48,386 avg
Humanities

16%

$43,195 avg
Social Sciences

9%

$47,172 avg
Trades

6%

$43,000 avg

Concentration: diversified HHI: 13

Outcome Performance

Idaho's highest-ROI degree cluster is Trades (Construction Trades), where graduates average $41,069 against a net cost of $9,284, a 4.4x return. That's -20.4% vs the national median.

Construction Trades
4.4x

$41,069 earnings $9,284 net -20.4% vs natl
Culinary & Personal Services
4.4x

$42,202 earnings $9,621 net -18.2% vs natl
Mechanic & Repair Tech
4.2x

$42,933 earnings $10,296 net -16.8% vs natl
Precision Production
4.2x

$42,933 earnings $10,296 net -16.8% vs natl
Legal Studies
3.7x

$43,437 earnings $11,795 net -15.8% vs natl
Humanities
3.3x

$46,589 earnings $14,200 net -9.7% vs natl

State Talent Profile

Three lenses on Idaho's talent pipeline: which fields produce the most graduates, which command the highest earnings, and where high-pay demand outruns local supply.

Dominant Fields

Health Professions 22%
Business & Marketing 18%
Humanities 14%
Computer Science & IT 5%
Engineering 5%

Highest-Earning Fields

Engineering $51,325
Communications $50,316
Biology & Biomedical $49,680
Social Sciences $49,358
Education $48,826

Opportunity Gaps

High earnings, low local production — fields where demand may outrun Idaho's graduate supply.

Communications $50,316 3% of grads
Biology & Biomedical $49,680 4% of grads
Social Sciences $49,358 4% of grads
Education $48,826 5% of grads

Mobility & Retention

Opportunity Insights

Idaho's colleges post an average mobility rate of 1.5%, which puts the state in the 50th percentile nationally. 9% of students arrive from bottom-quintile households. Cross-class social connectedness averages 1.16, a proxy for the networks that help graduates convert a degree into mobility.

MOBILITY RATE

1.5%

▼ -0.14pp vs natl

Bottom 20% → Top 20%
LOW-INCOME ACCESS

9%

From bottom quintile
SUCCESS RATE

19%

If bottom 20% enroll
FIRST-GENERATION

38%

First-gen students
TALENT RETENTION

70%

First-year retention
SOCIAL CAPITAL

1.16

Economic connectedness

Mobility Leaders — Institutions Driving Upward Movement

Labor Market Alignment

Technology graduates, however, earn 19.6% below the national median, a possible sign the state produces more of these degrees than its labor market absorbs.

Healthcare
22% of enrollment

$43,911 -14.9% vs natl

10 schools
Business
18% of enrollment

$46,798 -9.3% vs natl

10 schools
Humanities
16% of enrollment

$42,933 -16.8% vs natl

7 schools
Social Sciences
9% of enrollment

$45,473 -11.8% vs natl

4 schools
Trades
6% of enrollment

$46,001 -10.8% vs natl

2 schools
Technology
5% of enrollment

$41,487 -19.6% vs natl

3 schools

Potential Oversupply Signals

Technology: -19.6% vs national — wage pressure suggests oversupply

Humanities: -16.8% vs national — wage pressure suggests oversupply

Healthcare: -14.9% vs national — wage pressure suggests oversupply

Institutional Landscape

Idaho's higher education system includes 1 research-oriented, 4 specialized, 1 access-oriented, 9 regional institutions. Each group plays a different role in the state's outcomes.

1

Research Universities
9

Regional Universities
1

Access-Oriented Institutions
4

Specialized Institutions

Research Universities

University of Idaho $54,670

Access-Oriented Institutions

Boise Bible College 49% Pell

Cost & Access Corridors

46% of Idaho's colleges charge under $15K net. Graduates of those schools average $44,666 at 10 years.

NET PRICE UNDER $15K

6

46% of schools
Avg earnings: $44,666
NET PRICE $15K–$25K

4

31% of schools
Avg earnings: $44,818
NET PRICE $25K–$40K

3

23% of schools
Avg earnings: $42,961

Top Earners

Schools ranked by median graduate earnings 10 years after enrolling.

Higher education in Idaho

Idaho is home to 35 colleges and universities, from 8 public institutions to 5 private nonprofits. Boise State University anchors the public system, and graduates across the state earn a median of about $34,453 ten years after enrolling.

Higher education clusters around Boise, Nampa and Rexburg, and the strongest programs by enrollment are Culinary & Personal Services, Health Professions and Business & Marketing. We rank every school here by what its graduates actually earn and how far they move up — not by reputation or sticker price.

What college costs in Idaho

The average net price — what students actually pay after grants and scholarships — runs about $17,858 a year across Idaho. College of Southern Idaho stands out on return: strong graduate earnings against a comparatively low net price. Public universities and in-state tuition remain the clearest path to a low-debt degree, while need-based aid can make selective private schools surprisingly competitive.

Most Affordable Schools

Jobs & industries

Idaho's economy leans on technology, agriculture and manufacturing, which shapes which degrees pay off fastest in-state. Programs in Culinary & Personal Services, Health Professions and Business & Marketing feed directly into those employers, and graduates who stay in-region benefit from established hiring pipelines and alumni networks.

Licensure & transfer

Licensure and articulation are state-specific: nursing, teaching, law, and the health professions are regulated at the Idaho level, so an in-state program is often the most direct route to practicing here. Community-college transfer agreements with public universities can also cut the cost of a four-year degree substantially.

Cost vs Return

What graduates in Idaho earn relative to what they pay for college.

MEDIAN EARNINGS (10YR)

$34,453

▼ $-9,384 vs natl

AVG NET PRICE

$17,858

▲ $-218 vs natl

EARNINGS / COST RATIO

1.9x

Return per dollar invested

Best Value Schools

Is Idaho Right for You?

Idaho is a strong fit if you want to build a career in technology and agriculture, value in-state tuition, or plan to work in the region after graduation. Use the rankings and filters below to weigh earnings, cost, and mobility for every school in the state.

Every figure on this page is derived from public federal data and read within its regional and economic context. Information Gain Policy →

Related Rankings

By StateBest Colleges in Idaho By State (Affordable)Most Affordable Colleges in Idaho By StateBest Business Colleges in Idaho

Top Schools

University of Idaho · ID Brigham Young University-Idaho · ID Northwest Nazarene University · ID Boise State University · ID The College of Idaho · ID Lewis-Clark State College · ID

FAQ

How many colleges are in Idaho?

There are 35 colleges and universities in Idaho in our dataset — 8 public, 5 private nonprofit.

What is the highest-earning college in Idaho?

By median graduate earnings 10 years out, University of Idaho leads, followed by schools like Brigham Young University-Idaho and Northwest Nazarene University.

How much does college cost in Idaho?

The average net price — tuition and living costs after grants — is about $17,858 per year. In-state public tuition is typically the lowest-cost path.

What are the best-paying career fields in Idaho?

Idaho's economy is anchored by technology, agriculture and manufacturing, so degrees feeding those industries tend to pay off fastest in-state.

Is it worth going to college in Idaho?

For most students, yes — especially at in-state public universities and high-value private schools. College of Southern Idaho, for example, pairs strong earnings with a low net price. Weigh earnings against net price using the data on this page.

All 35 schools in Idaho

Data Behind This Page Updated 2026

35 institutions in Idaho

2026 Last updated

100% Public / federal sources

Source datasets

Methodology

States are graded on graduate earnings, social mobility, completion, and cost — each drawn from federal data and Opportunity Insights research, then normalized into a single Outcomes Index (0–100).

See the full methodology and weights →

Confidence notes

Earnings, completion, and debt figures come from federal administrative records — tax data and student-aid filings — not surveys or self-reports, the highest-confidence tier of education data available.
Social-mobility estimates are drawn from de-identified tax records covering more than 30 million students (Opportunity Insights).
Where an institution is missing a metric, it is excluded from that metric rather than imputed, so averages are never inflated by guesses.

Limitations

Federal earnings data primarily cover students who received federal financial aid; outcomes for non-aided students may differ.
Earnings are measured roughly ten years after enrollment, so they describe how earlier cohorts fared — historical outcomes, not guarantees of future results.
An institution's field-of-study mix affects raw earnings; scores reflect measured outcomes and are not fully major-adjusted unless explicitly noted.
Net price is an average; the actual cost a given student pays varies widely by family income.

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